Electricity systems (e.g. electrical generation and distribution systems) can be provided with a plurality of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs). An IED is a microprocessor-based electronic device, for example an electronic relay, which performs various functions including, but not limited to, protection, monitoring, control, and automation of an associated portion of the system. IEDs may be associated with supervisory control and data acquisition systems, energy management systems, distribution management systems, distribution automation systems, and teleprotection systems for power systems.
Since there was a desire to more easily network these IEDs together and, in essence, merge the varying communication capabilities of these different IEDs, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) instituted a standard for Communication Networks and Systems in Substations. This standard is commonly known as and is defined in the IEC 61850 standard. Although it is described to be applicable to substation automation systems (SAS), IEC 61850 may be applied across any portion or the entire electricity system. In addition to being a communication standard, IEC 61850 further covers, application data modelling and configuration management.
The IEC 61850 standard defines also a specific configuration language which allows users to exchange device subsystem, system descriptions and system parameters among different IED configuration tools. This language is referred to as a Substation Configuration Language (SCL) and is based on extensible Markup Language (XML).
The configuration of the communications among the IEDs can be made by software tools, e.g., the Substation Configuration Tool SCT, which allows an operator to fully design the system and from which the configuration of the same can be performed. Files, such as Substation Configuration Description SCD files, contain a description of the communication details of an IED among all the IEDs in a system or in a subsystem.
The communication between the IEDs is connection oriented (e.g., a client-server communication) for non-time critical messages, via MMS (Manufacturing Message Specification) as Application Layer of a communication stack built on TCP/IP/Ethernet, or packet based for time critical messages, via so called Generic Object Oriented Substation Events (GOOSE), a multicast at Data Link (Ethernet) level. In connection with the MMS non-time critical transactions (i.e. monitoring data and/or command exchanges) between a sender IED (e.g., a server IED) and a recipient (e.g., a client), two different communication configuration modes are known: a dynamic configuration mode and a static configuration mode.
According to the static configuration mode, the identifiers of the client IEDs are explicitly indicated and stored in server IED configuration information.
According to the dynamic configuration mode, the identifiers of the recipients IEDs are not indicated and stored in the server IED configuration information, but said identifiers can be determined by means of a list stored in the client IED configuration information.
With reference to the configuration of communication aspects of an IED, there are situations in which an IED provided by a company cannot accept a communication configuration mode which is employed by other IEDs which are provided by a different company.
Known configuration tools are not suitable to overcome in an efficient manner the communications configuration incompatibility of electronic devices adopting different communication configuration modes.